Heartbreaking photo of siblings goes viral

A DEVASTATED father has shared a touching photo of his son comforting his little sister in her final hours of life.

US dad Matt Sooter shared the intimate moment online of his two children a day before his four-year-old daughter, Adalynn 'Addy' Sooter died from a type of brain tumour on June 3.

The young girl from Arkansas, was diagnosed with the deadly illness in 2016, and her dad had been keeping family and friends up-to-date with news of her treatment on the Facebook page, Hope for Addy Joy - Fighting DIPG.

Four-year-old Addy bravely fought brain cancer for over a year before losing her life earlier this month. Picture: Facebook.

"He doesn't want to leave her side"

In the heartbreaking photo, Addy looks ill but is grasping her six-year-old brother Jackson's arm while he places a hand on her forehead.

Dad Matt wrote a lengthy caption accompanying the photograph detailing the pair's close connection, and Addy's failing health.

"A little boy should not have to say goodbye to his partner in crime, his play mate, his best friend, his little sister," he wrote on June 2.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be. But this is the broken world we live in."

"He doesn't want to leave her side and we won't make him."

The grieving father also said Addy's symptoms had gone downhill rapidly over the past day-and-a-half.

"While we still see short instances of our girl she can no longer eat or swallow without difficulty and she's sleeping most of the time now. Most likely she doesn't have much time left."

The post has since been shared more than 1000 times.

The little girl was taken the next day

Tragically, by 1am the following morning, Addy had passed away.

Her father Matt shared the sad news the same day.

"She passed from this life to the next just as she had lived: stubbornly but also peacefully, and surrounded by family. She wasn't in any pain at the end.

He wrote that it happened faster than they were expecting but that wasn't a bad good thing.

"That in itself is a blessing because she suffered so little at the end."

Brain cancer kills too many children

Tragically brain cancer takes far many young lives, not only overseas, but here at home.

It kills more children than any other disease in Australia. It also kills more people under 40 in Australia than any other cancer.